Often, I find that God leads me into situations that make me uncomfortable. But I would prefer if God would only place me into situations where I’m comfortable. 

But God knows what is best for my spiritual progression, and I have found that they take place most often when I’m outside of my comfort zone, after all, that is when I really must abide in Jesus.

In the Bible, the Lord gives us an understanding of what it is to “abide” in Him, and how that is to our benefit. John 15 specifically provides details on abiding in Christ. 

We must remember that in John 15 Jesus is talking to people who know Him personally, so it is a sanctification message, not a message on being saved or not being saved:

“I am the true vine [Jesus], and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off” [My study has revealed that this phrase, “cut off” in Hebrew literally means “to lift up”. Thus, those who follow Jesus and are not producing fruit are being touched by the Father in such a way that they can become fruit bearing.] every branch[branch means those following Christ.] “in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.” [People who follow Jesus are always being pruned so that we can be more productive for His kingdom.]

“You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you.” [Believers are cleansed from our sin, and brought into His righteousness at the time of accepting Christ, and being born again. Jesus wouldn’t have called them clean if some were not yet true followers of Him.] 

What must we do to become productive, or more productive, as the case may be, for Him? Jesus states it plainly: “Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.” Remain means that we continue in the state we are in. In this case, it is a personal relationship with Jesus, that is mutual with His Holy Spirit. It is His Holy Spirit who regenerates a person, and then permanently indwells us so we can remain in Him.

Some Bibles use the word “abide”. Why must we “remain” or “abide” in Him? We remain/abide in Him because in doing so we bear fruit. Not apples or peaches, but evidence of Christ’s character in us.

Galatians 5:22-23 describes some of those characteristics: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.” I know that no matter how hard I try, I cannot love like Jesus unless I rely upon His Spirit. When I remain and abide in Him, it is the supernatural work of God that facilitates me loving others in the same manner that Jesus loves us. I don’t ever love to the degree He has loved us, after all, He paid sin’s penalty for us, but I am able to love (in action by praying, and/or doing kind things) those who are unkind, nasty, and mean to me. He gives me the ability to be self-controlled as I abide in Him. 

That transition in my character usually requires me to walk in circumstances outside of my comfort zone. 

But God, as my Gardener, is right there next to me, holding on to me, just as a true gardener holds her flowers and plants with her hands, as she gently touches and lifts up the weak branches, and prunes off what is unnecessary from other branches to make them stronger. A gardener cannot tend her flowers from a distance, only up close and personal, just like our amazing Creator does for His true followers.

Have you ever experienced God as your Father, placing you in situations outside of your comfort zone? Did you abide and remain in Him, or did you pull away from His hand to go it on your own power? 

What does it mean to abide in Christ?

One who abides in Christ spends time with God in the Bible every day.

One who abides in Christ obeys the commands detailed in the Bible.

One who abides in Christ spends time with other believers who are abiding in Christ.

One who abides prays for others who are not abiding, and helps encourage them to abide.

One who abides decreases in his or her desire to have things of this world.

One who abides has a heart to help the poor (supports a mission, gives to a food pantry, takes someone into their home, etc.).

I know from personal experience, pulling away never helps, but abiding in Him is always beneficial and productive, as God promises in the following verse:

“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit;”

However, the follower who fails to abide lacks in fruitfulness for God’s kingdom: “apart from me you can do nothing.”

What does God do with the stubborn person who has accepted Christ as Lord and Savior, but fails to abide in Him? “If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned.” Note the word “like”. It is a comparison. 

Please remember, Jesus is not teaching a salvation message in John 15. He is teaching a sanctification message. This means that we read this Chapter with the presumption that He is talking to His true followers, which is the context of this passage. True followers of Christ will not be eternally separated from Him.

1 Corinthians 3:10-15 helps us to better understand what Jesus is teaching above: “By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as a wise builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should build with care. For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. If anyone builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, their work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each person’s work. If what has been built survives, the builder will receive a reward. If it is burned up, the builder will suffer loss but yet will be saved—even though only as one escaping through the flames.”

Those who abide in Christ, producing fruit for His kingdom, are rewarded by deeper intimacy with Him. That intimacy is not experienced by those who don’t abide. They miss out on experiencing God in the ways those who abide experience Him. Abiding happens as a person cooperates with God’s Holy Spirit.

When we are outside our comfort zone, we can abide in Christ, and then we are always in His comfort zone. 

I’d be excited to talk with you about abiding in Jesus! Please contact me at:  ButGodCares@gmail.com, if you want to talk about God.

Living for Jesus, Donna

P.S. If this has helped you, please feel free to share it with others!

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Copyright 2023 Donna Shappy   All rights reserved.  No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means – electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or any other – without the prior permission of the author.